THE ETHICS OF DIGITAL
PIRACY
Erika Bue
Jamie McRoberts
Shane Davie
Digital Piracy has become such a menace to the entertainment business
that many different anti-pirating advertisements have been released.
The video above is the most popular one in use now, visible in almost
every movie theater across the United States, though this particular
video actually originated in Australia.
Defining Digital Piracy
Digital is defined as anything “available in electronic
form, readable and manipulable by computer.”
! Piracy is defined as “the unauthorized reproduction or
use of a copyrighted book, recording, television
program, patented invention, trademarked product,
etc.”
! It shall, therefore, turn into “the unauthorized
reproduction of a copyrighted material available in
electronic form, readable and able to be manipulated by
a computer.”
! To compare, the comparable verb Steal has this
definition: to take the property of another or others
without permission or right, esp. secretly or by force.
(official definitions courtesy of www.dictionary.com)
!
How Piracy Has Evolved
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People have been sharing music for a long time (“Do you
mind if I borrow your new CD sometime so I can make a copy
of it?”).
P2P (Peer to Peer) file sharing programs were created with an
“intention” to help people transfer their own personal files
amongst each other (i.e. pictures, documents, etc.). Napster
was the first, released in 1999.
Programs like Napster quickly multiplied, becoming an
accessible, free method for transferring music and movies
from one person to another.
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This made it much easier than having to borrow the actual CD to a
person – it just sends the digital copy to them instead.
It is estimated that as of 2005, almost $3.5 billion dollars
annually is lost in the film industry, mostly affecting the 99%
of people in the entertainment industry who don’t make huge
salaries.
Evolution of Piracy Part II
!
The P2P networks that enable piracy do nothing
to prevent the transmission of copyrighted
material, but meanwhile make sure they are
doing everything in their power to prevent
themselves from liability.
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Some networks have become a “for profit” service –
leading people to believe that what they are doing is
legal because they are paying for it, until a summons
arrives at their front door.
Kazaa, a popular network for piracy, is based in
Vanuatu, a small archipelago between Australia and
Fiji, in order to avoid a majority of legal action.
P2P Networks
• This image is the header for Kazaa’s website. Notice that it states you can
search for and download music, movies, games, software, images, and
documents.
•However, in very small print on the bottom of the “About Us” page, the
disclaimer (which is unable to be copied and pasted) reads:
“Copyright: Sharman Networks Ltd. does not condone activities
and
actions that breach the rights of copyright owners. As a Kazaa
user, you
have agreed to abide by the End User License Agreement and it
is your
responsibility to obey all laws governing copyright in each
country.
Quotes
Against Piracy
!
James Hetfield
(Metallica): "What
about the band that's
on the cusp of make it
or break it? It's so
ironic that a band
won't be successful
because the people
who really like their
stuff are stealing it."
!
Jack Valenti, head of
the Motion Picture
Association of
America: “If we let this
stand, you’re going to
see the undoing of this
society. I didn’t preside
over this movie
industry to see it
disintegrate like the
music industry.”
Illegality of File Sharing
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!
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April 2000 – Metallica filed a suit against
Napster for racketeering and copyright
infringement after the P2P refused to remove
the band’s songs from the site.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that
Napster knew that its users were in violation of
copyright laws, but did nothing to prevent it.
In 2001, a court injunction forced the company
to close. It would later reopen as a service for a
charge.
Companies Combating Piracy
!
!
Companies such as Apple
(Itunes) and Napster* have
tried to offer their services
for a charge (.99 a song,
$12.95 a month
respectively).
But, people argue, who in
their right mind would pay
for music when they could
just as easily get it for free
somewhere else, and
without the restrictions
Apple has set on the
number of times
Itunes
Napster
Argument Against Piracy #1
Piracy (as previously defined) is “the
unauthorized reproduction or use of a
copyrighted book, recording, television
program, patented invention, trademarked
product, etc.”
Piracy is equal to stealing, which is the more
generalized act of taking the property of
another or others without permission or right,
especially secretly or by force.
Stealing is an unethical thing to do.
Therefore, Piracy is an unethical thing to do.
Arguments Against Piracy #2
!
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Music and movie companies spend millions of dollars
creating products for people to buy from them.
These companies rely on people to purchase their
product so they can make their money back that was lost
in production.
If people are downloading the products for free, there is
a net loss of approximately $13.00 per CD and DVD
downloaded illegally.
If companies are losing money to illegal downloading,
they won’t be able to continue producing music and
movies.
Downloading these products will eventually lead to the
downfall of the companies supplying them.
Thus, piracy is hurting the entertainment industry
financially and, as a result, is unethical.
Quotes For Piracy
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Orson Scott Card: “…
the entire music
business absolutely
depends on the social
interaction of kids to
make hits. You stop
kids from sharing
music, and you've shut
down the hit-making
machine.”
!
Orson Scott Card: “The
real gripe for the
record companies is
not these fictional ‘lost
sales.’ What's keeping
them up at night is the
realization that
musicians don't need
record companies any
more.”
Arguments for Piracy #1
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Most people value their money and don’t like to waste it
or spend it frivolously.
If people don’t have the opportunity to listen to a new
artist, then they will not put forth the money to buy their
product because if they don’t end up liking it, it would
be a waste of money.
Pirated music allows people to access and try out a new
band before they invest in a CD and find out they don’t
like it.
If people have the opportunity to download a song for
free and decide they like the band, they will not feel
cheated when they pay $14.00 to buy their CD.
Therefore, Digital Piracy is beneficial to the
entertainment industry.
Arguments for Piracy #2
!
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TV networks and music companies use figures from
P2P networks such as BitTorrent to see what is getting
downloaded the most in order to decide what music and
DVDs to put out and when.
By eliminating digital piracy, they would be eliminating
the ability for those networks to analyze what people
want and don’t want to watch or listen to.
Without this previous analysis, companies will lose
millions of dollars investing in products that aren’t in
high demand.
Therefore, digital piracy is necessary for companies to
correctly target their consumers wants and needs.
Questions
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Do you think that downloading music is
ethical?
What do you think of the illegality of pirating?
Do you agree with the laws? Do you think it can
be moral and legal at the same time?
Are there any further problems with the
arguments stated in the presentation?
Sources
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Valenti, Jack. "Online File Sharing Threatens the Film Industry." At Issue: Internet Piracy. Ed. James D.
Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. CIC University of
Wisconsin Center. 7 Oct. 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?
&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010337207&source=gale
&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=cicctr&version=1.0.
Bainwol, Mitch. "The Music Industry's Lawsuits Against Online Music Sharers Are Justified." At
Issue: Internet Piracy. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints
Resource Center. Gale. CIC University of Wisconsin Center. 7 Oct. 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/
ovrc/infomark.do?
&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010337210&source=gale
&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=cicctr&version=1.0.
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Card, Orson Scott. "The Problem of Internet Piracy Is Exaggerated." Opposing Viewpoints: The Internet.
Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. CIC
University of Wisconsin Center. 7 Oct. 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?
&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010236243&source=gale
&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=cicctr&version=1.0.
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Gunderson, Edna. “Piracy Has its Hooks In.” USA Today. May 6, 2003. https://ezproxy.uwc.edu/
login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=afh&AN=J0E272734827703&site=ehost-live
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Whipple, Tom. “Napster set music piracy ball rolling.” October 7, 2006. http://
web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uwc.edu/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=16&sid=97b2505a-f2fc-4420-a500cc5303c88d50%40sessionmgr3&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d
%3d#db=nfh&AN=7EH1796968338